Sunday, January 07, 2007

Sunday 01/07 A.M. Quickie:Tony Romo: From Hero to Goat

Update: Feel free to add your live-comments off the NFL Wild Card games today in the Comments section. Meanwhile...

Romo's Blunder Ends Cowboys Season in Playoff Shocker: So the biggest question, of course, coming out of the Cowboys' shocking playoff loss in Seatte is...

Will Carrie Underwood still want to be with Tony Romo now that he's one of the biggest NFL playoff chumps/chokers of the decade?

It seems fitting – even poetic (and certainly ironic) – that the Pro Bowl QB whose meteoric rise from backup to rockstar(ter) was one of the biggest stories of the season ended up botching what should have been Dallas' "automatica" win.

But now, Romo isn't defined by his underdog story, by his super season or by his much-hyped romances. He's "be-hold-en" to chokery.

(But why do I get the feeling that this is precisely the kind of Colts team, with few expectations, that could actually win the AFC title?)

NFL Today: Giants-Eagles, Jets-Pats. Living in NYC, there's no way I can escape it today, can I? (Of the four teams, I'm rooting for the Eagles. How amazing would it be if Philly somehow rallied its way to the NFC title behind Jeff Garcia?)

College Hoops Parity Watch: Pac-10 Mania!Oregon beats No. 1 UCLA. WashingtonState tops No. 7 Arizona. (I don't get it: Is the Pac-1o this amazing or is it simply this overrated?)

And by the way, does anyone have the YouTube clip for Deron Washington's nuts-to-chin dunk on Duke's utterly unlikeable Greg Paulus, during VA Tech's upset win over Duke yesterday? I think I'm too early to find it.AHH! Here it is. An absolute must-see.

(I predict it's going to be the most YouTubed college hoops moment of the week, thanks to the magical equation of: "Nuts-over-Chin" leap + Duke + Duke losing + Duke's most hated player = Video Gold.)

BCS Title-Game Ramp-Up: God, this wait is interminable. And I don't just think that's because I'm a fan of one of the two teams. So far, the biggest story of the CFB national-title game is that they've completely effed up the rhythm of the season by setting this game off so far from the rest of the major bowl schedule.

With all that said, are the Gators still expected to get crushed by mighty OhioState? Fine, I'll take it. I love it that way. I'm trying to figure out just precisely where – aside from the kicking game – OSU has such a substantial advantage. QB? RB? WR? OL? DL? LB? DBs?

I'm just not seeing it, and I'm just not sure why everyone is underrating Florida. (And you know I'm the first one to bring up that Florida has, at times this season, looked mediocre. But with their best game of the season – the SEC title game – in most recent memory (and with a month to get healthy and prepare), I still like their chances.

Fresh off his superb, eclipse-Quinn performance in the Sugar Bowl, LSU QB JaMarcus Russell is reportedly turning pro early. I think he's in the mix to be the first QB taken (ahead of Quinn and Brohm, if he jumps), a lock first-rounder and potentially a Top 5 pick.

NBA: Frankly, all I've been consuming this weekend, NBA-wise, is the post-party info from Gilbert Arenas' birthday bash. Start here and use it to work your way backward.

(Gilbert is my favorite NBA player -- and I'm no bandwagoneer -- but I have to wonder when the backlash will start. No single player can stay this universally popular for long in this day and age, right? It's going to be interesting to watch the process, because he is obviously the consensus favorite choice of sports bloggers, whose preferences tend to trickle down to mainstream media, which influences the fans.)

Condolences to family, friends and fans of USC kicker Mario Danelo, found dead at the bottom of a cliff in what appears to be a tragic accident.

That Dallas-Seattle game last night was some of the worst combined coaching I've ever seen. I'd fire both coaches immediately after that display. That whole game sucked and I even hate the Cowboys. Brett Favre should be in the Hall of Fame first ballot for winning even one super bowl in spite of Holmgren.

Yes, Ohio State has an advantage at QB. Chris Leak has made more mental mistakes this year than he used to ever make. Plus, his greatest game is still the FSU game... from his freshman year. It would take something like a 23-28, 3TD, 350 yd performance in a victory for him to be remembered as anything but an extremely talented, fairly inconsistent underacheiver at UF. Troy Smith doesn't have anything approaching that kind of baggage.

First off... I'm pretty sure I've never heard anyone refer to Greg Paulus as "unlikeable." I think there's just some kind of natural need for the Duke haters to find their new JJ Redick....

My Hokies always play Duke tough. I don't know what it is... but hey, we're in first place in the ACC! 11-4 (2-0) looks pretty good to me right now, considering we have athletes, not basketball players, and shoot roughly 62% from the line (egads!)

Also, Carrie Underwood is going to lose Romo either way. He has clearly become such a loser that he'll become a target for another pop idol: Britney Spears!

Friday night I was talking to my friends about the game and my prediction was that Romo would make the critical mistake that cost Dallas the game. looks like I was sorta right.

I feel kinda bad for Romo though. As much as the botched snap sucked for him, that's hardly the only play that cost Dallas the game. Terry Glenn's fumble was equally as huge, if not bigger. without that ensuing safety, even if the seahawks got the ball back and scored the game would have been tied, rather then them being up by one. so the botched snap would have just meant overtime. I know this is an overly simplified view, but you gotta feel bad for Romo being the only scapegoat. No one is even talking about the fumble and safety.

Greg Paulus. I think the end sequence was much more amusing. Gets drilled in the face with the ball by McRoberts and then gets rejected by Washington to end the game....no sense to hate on him though because he's not even that good. How about Clemson being the last remaining undefeated team? Great finish in that game.

Pac 10 looks pretty good, not overrated. Crazy to think that Washington State was picked to finish last in the conference.

So, is McNabb rooting for the Eagles or Giants this weekend??

I think Carrie Underwood could have played QB better than Trent Green yesterday. That was one of the worst offensive performances I've watched.

Does anyone think the Colts defense might have been dogging it during the season? Like maybe their defense couldn't have gotten so bad so quick this year?

In all seriousness, it's not the Colt's defense that lets the colts down each year. Manning has horrible play-calling. They should try sending in plays from the sidelines. He runs on obvious running downs, doesn't run enough and it's a miracle they beat the Pats this year.

I don't like Greg Paulus. He should be at Syracuse. That's all, nothing personal. But he hasn't entered JJ level nationally.

Who cares about UCLA? They don't generate the interest that Duke/UNC/UCONN do. I know whether Syracuse wins or loses during the regular season, I'll be lucky to get a single sentence. That's just the way it is.

I didn't see the game, but I have a question: WHY DIDN'T PARCELLS KICK IT ON THIRD?!?!?!?!?!? THAT'S WHY YOU KICK IT ON THIRD!

I heard the argument about running the clock down and all. Frankly, a first down around the 1 yard line is too difficult to get. Why bother trying? Why not take the lead and trust your D for the last minute?

Futurelegendvinceyoung... Don't you know Duke is universally hated like the Cowboys, Yankees.... UCLA loses to a top-20 conference opponent on the road. Duke loses to an unranked conference opponent at home. With a nice in-your-face moment to boot. I'd spend more time on that one too.

The Va Tech play was alright and all, but as the others pointed out, it was just a lay-up. Definitely no Vince Carter, and definitely not a dunk.....not even close in fact. Maybe you were watching it on one of those handheld mini-TVs or something.

Woulda been nice to see Romo lay out for the first down last night...look where he's got the ball when he dives. He didn't NEED to score, but he needed to be extending the ball for the 1 yard line. (Good job by the refs, actually, reviewing and fixing the spot, that was definitely not a first down.)

Dallas should NOT have challenged the touchdown call on the safety. They could have had a tie game, 6 minutes left, and the ball. Instead, they gave the ball back to Seattle to let them take the lead. Not only that, I'd have argued that Terry Glenn put the ball on the turf while securing it, making it an incomplete pass instead of a catch and fumble. Mighta gotten *that*, if Tuna had argued.

Anyone see Belichick cuff the photographer before the mini-hug with Mangini? That was worth it!

So much for home teams not winning this round....although Eagles are siphoning their lead back to NY as I type.

QB Smith is way more consistent but if Leak has one of his better games then it is a push.

RB OSU has us here. I like the rb by committee that the gators use after allwe did get like 2000 yds rushing this year but OSU does have a dominant number one guy

WR Ginn is pretty great but I think we our deeper. Percy Harvin is unreal. This is really close and it really boils down to how the defenses cover them. IM going with the gators only because of their depth.

OL this is a push however I do really love how the gators fullback billy latsko just levels people when he is the lead blocker.

DL This is pretty close as well although the guy on OSU whose grandma was at the podium is pretty good. Sucks we had to lose Thomas as he would have made us the better dl for sure.

LB I have to go with the gators only because brandon siler got like a 1600 on his SAT and you have to like a smart guy leading the D. The suckeyes lbs are pretty good though so it is really close.

DB's It all boils down to the game the reggies have. One is not the most consistent guy and one is dealing with the death of his mom. I think they will both put up big games and dont forget ryan smith. IM going with the gators here.

Soecial teams. OK our kicker sucks ass but we execute really well so I could totally see us getting a blocked kick or punt. I guess that makes it a push.

I think it boils down to 3-2 in the gators favor. I just hate having to wait a week for this game. It is annoying. All i know is it is going to be a good game and I am pretty confident the gators will win by a fg of all things.

Even if what you just described was remotely accurate to what happens (and its closer than ill ever admit), you described bad coaching. my pet peeve this year is when urban puts in tebow for second down, nothing happens, and then he throws Leak back out there for third: fix it.

it's driving me slightly crazy that people refer to this game as between "two great-coached teams." if you've watched UF this year, you know the playcalling has been suspect at best. so much so that if theyve managed to use the month just to develop a decent gameplan and get percy harvin healthy, we'll be better than we've been all year.

[sigh]...I get the Duke hating, really I do, but do we need to rally around the utterly-hateable Hokies? Their mascot is a fucking turkey, for God's sake. And they play like thugs. And, oh by the by, even Duke fans admit that the team was painfully overrated this year. (I personally wonder if they are even a top 25 team ... I'd vote them somewhere around #20.)

Anyway ... what exactly did Greg Paulus do to become the new JJ? I mean, he's not nearly as good, and it's not like he's a floorslapper like Wojo. Seems like McRoberts would be the most likely candidate for contempt.

I asked Dan about his atheletic history because I was frustrated. His hatred of Duke just pisses me off. I have been watching Duke since I was about 7 and this is by far one of the youngest and overrated Duke teams I have seen in that time and did not think their #5 ranking was justified.

It bears mentioning that UCLA has the by far the highest RPI strength of schedule ranking in the NCAA. They've already beaten five out of six ranked teams.

The team with the second highest strength of schedule ranking: Arizona. Florida? They're not even in the top 100. Outside of Ohio State and Kentucky, they've had a creampuff schedule, playing teams like Liberty. I'm not saying they aren't good, but I'd have no problem with the pollsters punishing them for their pussy-ass schedule this year rather than rewarding them for last year's tourney.

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.